I have a 2000 Toyota Corolla with a stuck passenger side seatbelt. The belt is stuck such that it will neither retract nor can I pull the belt any further. My Haynes manual shows me how to get to the retractor, but I don’t see how to release the belt without breaking the casing. Has anyone done this before or know how to do this?
You have a very important safety device that has become unreliable. Your better off replacing the seatbelt unit, retractor and belt. The dealer should be able to order one in the proper color.
The seatbelt retractor has a special feature that is supposed to lock the reel when it senses a strong g-force, like deceleration just before or during a collision. Your seatbelt retractor is malfunctioning, and locking up with no strong g-forces acting on it. If you can crack the case open to free it up, you may also muck up this all-important feature. Best just to replace th unit.
Yes, definitely replace it, but you can probalby find a perfectly servicable unit from a salvage yard. Some won’t sell them for liability reasons, but others have no problem with it. Good luck.
Yes, just take it to the dealer. They will deal with it. We had a stuck belt on out Olds well well past warrenty and the dealer took care of it no charge in the right color.
If you have a Haynes manual, I imagine you have tools. Why not remove the belt? You’ll need to do that anyway in order to replace it. Once you have it out where you can work with it, maybe you can figure out what is wrong. If it is jammed by a twig or pebble in the wrong place and seems to be otherwise undamaged, clear the jam and reinstall it. If the release mechanism or belt is damaged or worn out, then you replace the belt.
Are you the original owner?? If so…take it to the dealer. Toyota has a LIFETIME warranty on their seatbelts.
I’ll second what everybody else has said: Do not try to fix this. Against advice, I once tried to fix the retractor on the '87 Buick Century. When I opened it up, a humongous mainspring unwound all over the place. There was absolutely no way to get it back together without special equipment.
Check with a Dealer about what MikeinNH said. A free original part is hard to beat (even if they do insist on making you pay them to install it).
Do you have any idea if Toyota honors this warranty for owners of used vehicles?
They do NOT. Only the original owner.